Birds › Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
Sooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
28 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Easily confused with
Bridled TernOnychoprion anaethetus
Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens
Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
Great Crested TernThalasseus bergii
Black TernChlidonias niger
Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
Common TernSterna hirundo
Black SkimmerRynchops niger
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 24,357 |
|---|---|
| Texas | 1,537 |
| North Carolina | 1,199 |
| Louisiana | 289 |
| Ohio | 284 |
| Massachusetts | 282 |
| Hawaii | 258 |
| New York | 254 |
| West Virginia | 246 |
| Mississippi | 227 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Behavioral
- CarnivoreEats other animals or animal-derived prey as a major part of its diet.BIRDBASE avian traits database
Group and habits
- Ground nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on the ground.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Scrape nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in scrapes.BIRDBASE avian traits database
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordates · Chordata |
| Class | Birds · Aves |
| Order | Shorebirds and Allies · Charadriiformes |
| Family | Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers · Laridae |
| Genus | Brown-backed Terns · Onychoprion |
Study it in a deck
Or build your own from the species near you.
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- Traits: BIRDBASE avian traits database (CC BY 4.0)
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Sooty Tern with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.